Dennis Ford was a South African freestyle swimmer. He competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1956 Summer Olympics. He was born on 3 February 1931, in East London and died 1st January 2009. In 1994 he married 1956 Olympic medallist Moira Abernethy.

At the 1952 South African Swimming Championships held in Cape Town, Dennis won medals in all four of the freestyle events, including three silver. In 1953 he won three gold medals and one silver. At Port Elizabeth in 1954 he won the 220 yards and placed second in the 100, with a third place in the 440. In Pretoria the following year he placed second in the 220 and 440. 1956 saw Dennis winning third place in the 200m freestyle, and placing 4th place in the 400. He missed the 1957 nationals in Bulawayo (then already an elderly 26-year-old in full-time employment), while in East London in 1958 he was once again amongst the medals, finishing second in the 100m freestyle, behind 1960 Olympian Aubrey Bürer. He also finished 4th in the 200.

Dennis Ford took up swimming at the age of three, competed in his first race three years later, and joined the Transvaal team in 1950. Between 1951 and 1953 he won numerous Transvaal freestyle titles and broke many records. In 1952 he competed at four events at the Summer Olympics, three individual races (the 100, 400, and 1,500 freestyle) where he was eliminated prior to the finals, and the 4x200 m freestyle relay (alongside Graham Johnston, Peter Duncan and John Durr), where the team placed seventh. The following year he was South African champion in the 100, 400, and 1,500 m freestyle events. This led him to be selected for the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, where he took home a bronze medal in the 4x220 yard relay (with Johnston, Duncan, and Billy Steuart) and was eliminated in the heats of the 110 y freestyle.

Ford returned to the Olympics in 1956, this time participating in two events. He was eliminated in round one of the 100 m freestyle and was eighth in the 4x200 m freestyle relay with Duncan, Steuart, and Tony Briscoe. Ford retired from active competition in 1960, but continued swimming until shortly before his death from cancer on New Year’s Day 2009. He was also a proficient water polo player at the Transvaal provincial level and was involved in numerous other sports. His second marriage, in 1994, was to Moira Abernethy, a bronze medalist in the 4x100 m relay in Melbourne. Outside of athletics he was employed as an insurance company clerk and was active as a conservationist.

Dennis was a graduate of the King Edward VII school in Johannesburg and a long-time member of the Old Edwardian club where he swam and also played water polo. 

Dennis Ford had been elected President of the Old Edwardian Society in January 1990. Perhaps best known as a swimmer, Dennis also played rugby for Old Jeds and hockey for the Society. But it was at swimming that his name will forever be etched in the annals of Old Edwardians. He was a member of the Transvaal team from 1951 to 1959 and between 1951 and 1957. He went to the Helsinki and Melbourne Olympic Games as well as representing South Africa in the Commonwealth Games in 1954. Some record.

O

obituary from the International Swimming Hall of Fame

Dennis George Ford, Passes Away

Dennis George Ford, South African Olympic and Empire Games swimmer, was born on 3rd February 1931 in East London, Cape Province, South Africa, and passed away in Johannesburg on 1st January 2009 after a two-month battle with cancer.

Dennis Ford was Captain of the Transvaal Team that won the Ellis Brown South African Championship Team Trophy every year from 1953 to 1960. Ford, who competed in both the South African National Swimming and Water Polo Championships for many years, eventually became known as Dennis"Old Man River" Ford.

His swimmer-coach partnership with his one and only Coach, Cecil Colwin, started in 1950 and lasted a record eleven years. Dennis Ford was a member of the South African swimming Team at the: 1952 Olympic Games, Helsinki, the 1954 Empire Games, Vancouver, and the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. Ford was a Member of the South African men's 4 x 200 metres freestyle relay team that finished in the final at both the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Ford was South African Champion in 200 metres freestyle (1953), 400 metres freestyle (1953) and 1500 metres freestyle(1953)

Ford's coach, Cecil Colwin, who had seven of the eight swimmers selected for the 1956 South African Olympic team, was nominated by the Transvaal Province as Coach for the Melbourne Games but his nomination was refused by the South African Olympic Council on the grounds that Colwin was a professional coach and therefore ineligible.

Ford started his international swimming career in 1950 at the late age of 20 under the coaching of Cecil Colwin, who was then only in his second year as a professional coach. Colwin saw promise in the 6 ft 3 in youngster who had an easy 'run' to his crawl stroke, and encouraged him to train for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, in which Ford was to compete two years later.

Ford's proudest swimming moment was winning a bronze medal at the 1954 Empire Games in Canada. Two years later, Ford swam in the Melbourne Olympics. Seven out of the eight swimmers in the Melbourne Olympic team were coached by Cecil Colwin, his four female swimmers coming third to the Australian and American teams in the 4 X 100 metres freestyle relay. One of the swimmers in that relay was Moira "Little Mo" Abernethy whom Ford was destined to marry in later years.

Dennis Ford also captained the Transvaal swimming team and held every provincial freestyle record during the 1950s. "He also played provincial water polo", said Moira, his wife of fourteen years. The two fell in love and married in 1994 after both their first marriages ended. Ford also played hockey, baseball, rugby, golf and bowls during various periods in his life, and continued swimming right up until he fell ill. His five children from his first marriage, two of them twins, have inherited Ford's affinity for water and are all keen swimmers and water polo players. Ford loved wildlife and spent as much time as possible in the wilds, working for the Endangered Wildlife Trust. Together with Clive Walker, Ford was one of the first people to collar elephants in the Kruger National Park.

Ford's lifelong friend Pat Cotter, whom he met in Grade One, described Ford as a strong, serious man with an underlying whimsical sense of humour. "Dennis was a man of integrity, and a popular all-round sportsman who was always willing to assist others," said Cotter.

Tributes to Dennis Ford:- From Billy Steuart, 1956 South African Freestyle Champion from 100 to 1500:- "I remember way back in 1951 when Cecil Colwin was training Dennis for the 1952 Olympics, Dennis did a workout at the King Edward School pool, in Johannesburg As a keen young swimmer then attending King Edwards School, I watched Dennis go through a gruelling session with Coach Colwin, and I came to realize how hard one had to work to be a good swimmer. I owe a great deal to Dennis who inspired me to be the same. Dennis was a great example for younger swimmers, because of his hard work, ethic and mature attitude. " (Note: Steuart joined Colwin's squad and became a direct successor to Dennis Ford when he won every South African freestyle title from the 100 to the 1500 in Durban at the South African 1956 Olympic Trials. Steuart later went on to swim for Michigan State University, where he won three NCAA freestyle titles.)

https://ishof.org/dennis-george-ford.html 

Carla was born in Amsterdam and moved to South Africa 1928. She learned to swim in Holland and had contact with world champion Rie Mastenbroek. In Pretoria, her coach was Jimmy Green.

She married Dennis Hewartson and later Basil William Hall (1961)

2018 Commonwealth Games - South African Bronze Medal medley relay team splits: Brad Tandy (49.70), Chad le Clos (50.10), Cameron van der Burgh (59.20), Calvyn Justus (55.79)

Calvyn Justus was born on 14 December 1995 in Benoni, and later moved to Durban, where he attended Westville BHS and matriculated in 2013. His coach at Westville BHS was Graham Hill.

Calvyn swam at the 2014 Commonwealth Games where he won a silver medal in the 4x100, and bronze in the 4x200 freestyle relay - although he only swam in the qualifying team during the heats for both events. 

In December 2017 Justus won the 100 backstroke at South Africa’s Commonwealth Games Trials with a time of 55.57.

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, his split in the 4x100 medley relay bronze medal-winning team was 55:79. 

At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games he was part of the South African 4x200 freestyle relay that finished in 10th place.

I joined my first swimming club at 10 or 11. It was, and still is, the best club in the country, and I’m still with them – Seagulls Swimming. I train under head coach Graham Hill, and he got me to the level I am today.’

Hill wasn’t his only inspiration, as Justus’s mom was once a provincial swimmer. It also helps when you have parents willing to wake up at 4 am to get you to training every day before school. ‘I have unbelievably supportive parents,’ he says.

Men’s 4 x 100 Medley Relay Time Trial

April 15th, 2016 

What an amazing performance from the four Olympic hopefuls as it brought the crowd to their feet, with the South African team finishing in 3:33.80, well under the required 3:34.70. Christopher Reid opted out the men’s 200m backstroke to lead off this relay with a 53,52 before Cameron van der Burgh took over in the breaststroke to split an encouraging 58,95 and handed over to Chad le Clos for the butterfly leg. Le Clos kept the pace going with a quick 51,59 to hand over to the younger Calvyn Justus in the freestyle – the man who won last night only to find out he had to fill this berth. Justus served his place on the anchor 49,74.

https://swimswam.com/south-africa-men-time-trial-sa-day-6/ 

Personal best times

CALVYN JUSTUS IS A MAN WITH A PLAN (INTERVIEW)

9 December 2015

Embedded within the South African contingent headed to the Netherlands for the Amsterdam Cup this weekend is rising star Calvyn Justus, a 19-year-old freestyle specialist who is striving to make a name for himself both in and out of the pool.

We featured one of Justus’ on-deck talents, that of artistic and informative vlogging by sharing his YouTube video adventure to Dubai and Doha as part of this year’s FINA World Cup circuit. The visual journey is just one of the many mini-features Justus has produced, which span subjects from swimming to travelling to art, all housed in his own YouTube channel.

In the aquatic realm of life, Justus is inching more and more toward the upper ranks of the international swimming scene, earning two relay medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and, most recently, making his first World Cup final in Doha.  Justus wound up finishing 8th in that men’s 200m freestyle final, but he plans on using that accomplishment as a springboard to move his way up the swim food-chain, with his eyes ultimately on a South African Olympic roster berth.

On the cusp of moving into the elite layers of international swimming, Justus has seen his times steadily improve, most notably in his 200m freestyle.  Within a span of less than 2 years, Justus knocked almost 3 seconds off of his LCM personal best, dropping it from 1:52.37 in 2013 to a sub-1:50 mark of 1:49.58 at this summer’s All-Africa Games. Justus is ranked within the top 5 in his country in the 200m freestyle and is currently positioned as the 2nd-swiftest 400m freestyler in South Africa.

In an exclusive interview with SwimSwam, Justus reveals what drew him to the sport of swimming, how the athletic environment is faring in his home country of South Africa, as well as who and what drives him to success in all facets of life.

Retta: Tell readers a brief history of your swimming background; when you started; when you knew you were “good”; what events you specialize in; where you train and with whom.

Justus: I first started swimming at my middle school around year 5, I was actually told I had to attend after-school lessons if I wanted to make the team as I was a weak swimmer, a year or so after that I was then told I was too advanced for the after school lessons and I should consider joining a swimming club. I joined my first club called NDSA and that’s where I guess you could say I started taking the sport very seriously and my dreams of the Olympics were planted in my mind. I began as a backstroker yet I later made the switch to freestyle. I swam for NDSA until I began high school at Westville Boys High School, the highest-ranked swimming school in South Africa. At this point I believed in order to take my swimming to the next level I needed to join arguably the best coach and swimming program in our country, Graham Hill, head coach of Seagulls Swimming Club, So in year 8 (14 years old)  I made the transition and I have swum for Graham with my Seagulls team mates ever since!

Retta: Describe your swimming personality.  Are you a fierce competitor? A laid-back saboteur? A high-energy, always amped-up athlete?

Justus: I think I’m a bit of everything but if I had to go with the most dominant trait I’d have to say I’m fairly laid back. I like to keep calm and collected before races, I don’t really like thinking about the race too much, I just kinda go out there and let my ‘instinct’ take over.

Retta: What is your most memorable achievement in the pool?

Justus: I would say winning a silver and bronze medal in the 100m and 200m freestyle relays at the 2014 Commonwealth Games my highest achievement to date.

Retta: Whom do you look up to in terms of swimming idols? Athletic idols overall?

Justus: I’m not sure I idolize any swimmers but ra I have huge amounts of respect for them, I have a lot of respect for my national team mates and I really respect some of the more humble swimmers that are Olympians and world champions. I say I don’t idolise any as it’s getting to the point now where I have to try my best to start competing and trying to beat them.

Retta: What drives your motivation? How do you keep yourself to keep grinding day in, day out?

Justus: Without a doubt its my hunger to make the Olympic team, It’s all I’ve ever wanted and dreamt of. The Olympic games is my sole focus and goal and I think once anyone is aware of a dream/goal its relatively easy to stay motivated and dedicated to achieving that goal.

Retta: Describe your YouTube Channel.  What do you post?  How often? Who is your audience?  Does it tie in with your swimming? Do your YouTube efforts reflect where you see yourself headed after your swimming career?

Justus: I’ve always had a huge passion for the arts and creation. I became very intrigued with graphic art/design in high school. In my final year I discovered the term ” YouTuber” and thought it’d be pretty fun to give it a try, My first few videos, well a lot really, were quite awful. It took me a while to find my footing and kind of decide what content I wanted to create. It wasn’t until this year really that I started getting more sure of my content and felt like it's starting to get on track, I still have loads to learn and figure out but I’m happy with the direction it's leading. I try to incorporate a large amount of my swimming life, especially when we travel to big meets etc. I get some really positive feedback from aspiring young swimmers and that really motivates me to keep creating these videos. I also create some more passion-driven and artsy stuff as well, there’s a lot going on, on my channel but I love expressing all my passions and interests in one place. Content creation and filmmaking is definitely what I want to pursue after my swimming career however at the moment they seem to be merging together quite nicely.

Retta: Any comments on South African swimming funding? Word is the federation is pretty stingy with $ and travel reimbursement.  How does this affect you, both on a practical level, but also on an emotional level?

Justus: It’s no secret our country battles with funding, It can obviously get pretty demotivating at times but they’re really trying to step it up lately, I really do appreciate the support we are being given and a lot of new opportunities have been created for us as of late. There are definite signs of improvement.

https://swimswam.com/south-africas-calvyn-justus-man-plan-interview/

Doing relay Justus

Awesome foursome Cameron, Chad, Christopher and Calvyn

16 April 2016

A RELAY team with the potential to win a medal emerged at the South African Swimming Championships here yesterday as Cameron van der Burgh, Chad le Clos, Christopher Reid and Calvyn Justus qualified as a foursome for the Rio Olympic Games.

Set a target of 3min 34sec to qualify for the 4x100m medley relay team, the four swimmers dipped narrowly as Justus, swimming the freestyle leg, stopped the clock on 3:33.80. Reid, who broke the South African 100m backstroke record earlier this week, got the team off to a good start with a split of 53.12 seconds.

 Van der Burgh was the star of the relay in the breaststroke leg, clocking 58.95sec before Le Clos posted 51.59 in the butterfly.

At the final takeover, Justus had to dip below 50 seconds to give the team a chance of qualifying but the 20-year-old held his nerve with a split of 49.74. An excited Van der Burgh said he believed the team had the potential to compete for a medal at the Games but it would require some blood, sweat and tears to get there.

“The main thing is we’ve qualified, it is a huge thing for us,” Van der Burgh said. “I believe it is our most competitive relay going into the Olympic Games. “We’ve got a lot of hard work but we have four months to feed off each other, work hard and work on those take-overs, get the splits down and understand where we need to improve.”

 Reid’s record-breaking swim during the 100m backstroke heats earlier this week set the relay plans into motion as South Africa finally found a backstroker to complement world-beating stars Van der Burgh and Le Clos.

“The head coach (Graham Hill) approached me two years ago and said we have the potential to have a really good relay team if a backstroker made the step-up and go 53-middle,” Reid said. “That has been the goal for me over the last two years, not only to qualify but to get the 53 and make the relay possible.

“I think it would be great for our country if we pull off another relay win or at least a medal like the boys in Athens.” This just left the team to find a freestyle swimmer to round off the team, and thanks to his title-winning swim in the 100m freestyle, Justus was selected to fill the high-pressure final leg of the relay.

Justus demonstrated big match temperament in the final with a new personal best of 49.88 to dip below 50 seconds for the first time in his young career.

“It is safe to say that was the most terrified I’ve ever been but when I heard the crowd going off for Chris when he got in, it went away and I was so excited,” Justus said. “It’s been my dream since I started the sport so I am on cloud nine right now.”

Bradley Edward Tandy was on born 2 May 1991 in the Natal town of Ladysmith, where he matriculated at the Ladysmith High School. He swam with the Ladysmith Marlins Swimming Club, where he specialised in breaststroke and 50m freestyle sprinting. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, he won a silver medal in the 50m freestyle.

Brad first started training with Ladysmith Marlins coaches Ivan and Denise Ball at the age of ten. “I was at high school when people started noticing that I was good at swimming. But to be honest, I was more interested in field hockey and just having fun with my friends! I was told, ‘If you trained seriously you could really make a name for yourself in the world of swimming.’

So I took notice and trained with the Marlins for two hours every day after school. Soon enough I was competing and winning events, and was even made the captain of the KZN team entering the SA Games. After high school, I moved to Pietermaritzburg where I trained for one year with the Seals Swimming Club. It was then that I was given the opportunity to take swimming to the next level and try and make a career out of it. I chose to study and train at Indian River State College in Florida and wow, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made!

In 2011 Brad joined the Indian River State College swimming & diving team in Florida. It was there that Tandy helped his team win two National Junior College Champions two years in a row by becoming a five-time national record holder and a five-time All-American in his primary events, the 50 and 100-yard freestyles and relays. He was named the NJCAA Swimmer of the Year and the Florida Athlete of the Year prior to committing to Arizona, and in 2017 he was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame.

In 2013, Tandy opted to continue his education and swimming career at Arizona. Making an immediate impact with the Wildcats, the NJCAA transfer won the 50 free title at the 2014 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships while also earning All-America honours in the 100 breaststroke, 200 medley relay, and 200 and 400 free relays.

Swimming for the University of Arizona Wildcats in March 2014 Brad swam 50 yards freestyle in 18:80 seconds, which put his just outside the top 10 performances of all time. One month later, at the 2014 NCAA Championships Tandy won the 50-yard freestyle, his first NCAA championship. He also earned All-America honours in the 200 free relay and the 200 medley relay in addition to honourable mention honours in the 100-yard breast and 400 free relay.

Calvyn Justus, Cameron Van Der Burgh, Chad Le Clos and Bradley Tandy pose with their bronze medals after the swimming men’s 4x100m medley relay final during the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games

Personal best times

University of Arizona 

2015-16: Tied for sixth in the 50m free at the 2016 Olympics with a time of 21.79 representing South Africa.

2014-15: Named to the Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team…Won a Pac-12 title in the 50 free with a time of 18.95…At NCAA Championships, he tied for third in the 50 free with his season-best time and took sixth in the consolation final of the 100 breast with 52.64…Earned All-America Honorable Mentions honors in the 200 free relay, 200 medley relay, 400 free relay and 400 medley relay…At Pac-12 Championships, he also finished second in the B final of the 100 breast and first in the B final of the 100 free, earning a “B” cut…Had the fastest time on the team in the 50 free (18.91) and 100 free (42.90)…Took first in the 50 free at the Texas Invitational, sixth in the 100 free and second in the B final of the 100 breast.   

2013-14: Won a NCAA title in the 50 free with a time of 18.95…Earned All-America honors in the 50 free, 200 free relay and 200 medley relay…Also earned honorable mention All-America honors in the 100 breast and 400 free relay…Clocked in with a winning, school-record and Pac-12 meet record time of 18.80 in the 50 free at the Pac-12 Championships...Was also part of the winning and Pac-12 meet record 200 medley relay team…Also was part of a Pac-12 title in the 400 medley relay team.

At Indian River College: Helped Indian River State College to win the national title in both seasons he was on the squad…Was a five-time All-American…five-time national record holder…Was named NJCAA Swimmer of the Year…Owns the Junior College National Record holder in both the 50 and 100 freestyles…Holds the school record in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free and 200 medley relay…Was the 400 free relay swimmer of the year and the Florida Athlete of the Year…Was part of three relay NJCAA records.

Personal: Son of Steve and Vanessa Tandy…Has a brother, Robert and a sister, Sarah…Plans to major in Management Information Systems at the U of A.

Brad Tandy’s Start Is Absolutely Ridiculous

If you follow NCAA swimming by now you have seen the University of Arizona’s Brad Tandy launch himself off the starting blocks like an intercontinental ballistic missile. His explosive start and underwater dolphin kick into a devastating breakout landed him on the top of the podium at the NCAA Division 1 championships last year, as well as winning him a handful of Pac-12 titles.

To dominate on the NCAA level is one thing, but Tandy showed that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the long pool as well.

At the recent Santa Clara Grand Prix, Tandy, swimming next to 100m freestyle Olympic champ Nathan Adrian, let his start do the talking when he exploded off the blocks and emerged visibly ahead of a field that was utterly and completely stacked.

You had 2000 Olympic champ in the event Anthony Ervin, Brazilian Bruno Fratus (who trains out of Auburn and at this point in 2015 has posted the world’s third fastest time in the event clocking a 21.74 at the Maria Lenk Trophy), the Russian lightening bolt Vlad Morozov (2nd in the world so far), Brazil’s Marcello Chierighini, and another speedy Russian, Nikita Lobintsev.Even though the field would reel him in, with Tandy placing fourth in a time of 22.28, you can’t help but feel awed at the sheer power he demonstrates over the first 25m of the race.

Tandy, who stands at 6’3 popped up and significantly ahead of Adrian, who has one of the most powerful starts in the business. Not too mention that Adrian has a 3-4 inch height advantage on the Wildcat, who is originally from South Africa.

Off the start you notice a couple things with Tandy:

• He pulls back slightly on the blocks, giving him some of the “slingshot” effect when he uses his arms to pull powerfully off the starting block.
• He gets a crazy amount of distance off the blocks.
• The coupling motion of his arms helps maintain his speed and power off the blocks/
• He uses the “flying mongoose” technique of bringing your arms around the side when aligning the body into a streamline for entry.
• He goes very deep on the entry. So deep that he disappears under the lane line.
• And he kicks all the way out to 15m (something that is not uncommon at the elite level, with the defending Olympic champ in the event and now short course world record holder in the event Florent Manaudou of France dolphin kicking all the way out the maximum distance allowed).

Tandy’s Start at the NCAA Level

Here is also another video from the Pac 12 championships, which Tandy won the 50 yard freestyle in a time of 18.80.

UPDATE:

Recently The Race Club, whose head coach Gary Hall Sr. collaborated with us on our underwater dolphin kicking guide, posted an awesome video of Tandy and his start.

Tandy is filming a series of webisodes for The Race Club (click here to see their YouTube channel–tons of great stuff), and they uploaded the slow-motion rocket launch of Tandy’s start below.

The swimmer next to him is Mike Alexandrov, two-time Olympic breaststroker, who we have worked with a few times on guides for breaststrokers (improve your breast kick, breaststroke pull, and a couple breaststroke sets).

In a similar situation is the above video, Tandy explodes out to an early lead with a dominant start/breakout and turn.

Here is the race video from the Santa Clara Grand Prix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AL8z4p0g_Y&t=1s

Read the article here.

South African Olympic Finalist Brad Tandy Announces Retirement

11 April 2022

South African Olympic Finalist Brad Tandy Announces Retirement

Brad Tandy, a two-time Olympian from South Africa, declared his retirement this weekend at the South African Swimming Championships.

Tandy, 30, swam the 50 free at the meet in Gqeberha, just over a week after taking part in the TYR Pro Swim Series in San Francisco. He finished second in the race to 17-year-old Pieter Coetzee, clocking in at 22.49.

 For one of the last generation’s stars of South African swimming, it served as a passing of the torch to a rising star.

“I think it’s time for the next chapter of my life,” Tandy told Swimming South Africa after the swim. “To be honest, the little boy from Ladysmith, what I have achieved has surpassed all goals I set out. I could have retired happy after winning my first national championships. I’ve just been blessed and blessed in the sport but I just feel like all the stars are aligning, I’m getting married, job, right age – it feels good. There are some great up and coming swimming so I’m leaving it in good hands.”

Tandy finished sixth in the men’s 50 freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the swim for which he is best known. A hyper specialist sprinter in the 50, he won a bronze medal at the 2018 Short-Course World Championships in Hangzhou and a silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He added medley relay bronze at the latter. Tandy won two relay golds and bronze in the 50 at the 2019 African Games.

Tandy qualified for his second Olympics in 2021, tying for 24th in the 50 free in Tokyo.

Tandy has settled in Arizona, where he was a star at the University of Arizona after two years at Indian River Junior College in Florida. A four-time All-American for the Wildcats, he won the NCAA title in the 50 free in 2014, in a tie with Kristian Gkolomeev, and the Pac-12 title in the event in 2015.

Tandy was pleased to get a farewell closer to his native Ladysmith.

“It’s quite an emotional one for me,” he said. “They always say the starting is the hard part, but they don’t really give you a heads up on the finishing. I was going to be happy with whatever I swam, just to be back here in South Africa, seeing the crowd. I didn’t win it, but I still got the applause … it means a lot to me.”

Commonwealth Games Medalist Brad Tandy (RSA) Retires From Swimming

On the penultimate night of competition at the 2022 South African Championships, 30-year-old sprinter Brad Tandy announced his decision to retire from swimming.

Arriving in Gqeberha from the United States just this morning, Tandy earned a time of 22.49 to snag silver in the men’s 50m freestyle behind 17-year-old Ryan Coetze who touched in 22.34 for the win.

Coetze had already qualified for the World Championships and Commonwealth Games earlier in the meet with his 200m free relay leadoff of 22.15.

After the race, Coetze revealed the words Tandy spoke. “He said: ‘Well done, it’s all yours now. You take it from here. So that was a great moment to share with him.

“To win it is great and obviously to race Brad was awesome, and very emotional to see him finishing. He’s one of the greatest guys in the world of swimming. He’s an amazing swimmer and I really got to know him in the village in Tokyo – he was like a mentor to the younger guys on the team, so it was great to experience the Olympics with him,” Coetze said.

Tandy’s career-key moment came when he placed 6th in the men’s 50m freestyle final at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Tandy is also a Commonwealth Games multi-medalist, having earned silver in the 50m freestyle in 2018 on the Gold Coast while also scoring bronze on South Africa’s men’s medley relay.

More recently, Tandy too part in season 2 of the International Swimming League (ISL) as a member of the Tokyo Frog Kings.

Prior to his professional career, Tandy was a highly-successful student-athlete at the University of Arizona. In his Wildcat days, Tandy was a 4-time All-American, earning an NCAA title in the 50m free in 2014.

On his decision to retire, Tandy said of today’s race, “It’s quite an emotional one for me. They always say the starting is the hard part, but they don’t really give you a heads up on the finishing.

“I was going to be happy with whatever I swam, just to be back here in South Africa, seeing the crowd. I didn’t win it, but I still got the applause… it means a lot to me.”

A resident of Arizona, Tandy said, “I think it’s time for the next chapter of my life.

“To be honest, the little boy from Ladysmith, what I have achieved has surpassed all goals I set out. I could have retired happy after winning my first national championships. I’ve just been blessed and blessed in the sport but I just feel like all the stars are aligning, I’m getting married, job, right age – it feels good. There are some great up and coming swimming so I’m leaving it in good hands.”